Japan wants to join talks on a U.S.-led Asia-Pacific free trade pact. Business lobbies in Japan are worried their nation is lagging behind rivals such as South Korea in free trade deals. They want Prime Minister Naoto Kan to offer to take part in talks on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership when he hosts the November 13-14 Asia-Pacific Cooperation summit, which President Barack Obama will attend. In the meantime, Japan needs to pursue agriculture reform to overcome resistance from farmers.
The chairman of one of Japans three biggest business lobbies, Hiromasa Yonekura, said Monday he's afraid Japan would trail others in improving the global business environment, lose the trust of the world and be excluded from global growth and prosperity if it put off the decision.
Even if Japan shows interest in participating in the talks, it needs approval to do so from other nations already involved in the talks, including the United States, Singapore and Australia.
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